Republicans Probe Drugmaker Political Support for Health Law

By Drew Armstrong -
May 16, 2012

House Republicans are probing whether
the White House and Democrats in Congress were promised
political support from drugmakers in exchange for limiting what
the industry would be asked to contribute under the 2010 health-care overhaul, according to a memo.

Those involved in negotiating the law’s passage are being
interviewed by a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee, people
familiar with the investigations said this month. The probe, led
by Republicans Michael Burgess of Texas and Cliff Stearns of
Florida, has included companies such as Pfizer Inc. (PFE) and the
Washington-based Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of
America, a trade group.

The action may be a run-up to negotiations over replacing
the law, should it be overturned or changed by a Supreme Court
ruling on its constitutionality expected next month. It reflects
the political differences between the administration and the
House’s Republican leadership, said Sarah Binder at George
Washington University in Washington.

“It’s not unusual for House or Senate oversight committees
to go after the administration on policy,” said Binder, a
political scientist. She called the panel’s actions a “classic
pursuit.”

The House panel released the memo today, and said more
details will come “in the coming weeks.”

“The investigation has confirmed the existence of a deal
between the White House and PhRMA that explicitly bound both
parties to certain commitments,” the House Republican memo
said. “The important question to answer is what did the White
House get in return.”

PhRMA Response

PhRMA “has a long history of advocating for policies that
ensure patient access to innovative medicines and foster medical
progress,” Matt Bennett, a spokesman for the group, said in an
e-mail. “We look forward to ongoing work with Congress and the
Administration.”

The almost $1 trillion, 10-year plan for overhauling the
health-care system expands insurance coverage to 30 million
previously uncovered people. It’s partly funded by more than
$100 billion in taxes and product discounts the drug industry
offered to the White House. In return, the newly insured will be
able to buy the drugmakers’ pills using their new coverage.

Drugmakers also saw proposals they opposed -- such as
having Medicare negotiate prices on drugs, or allowing drugs to
be reimported from overseas -- kept out of the law.

‘Full Details’

The subcommittee’s probe began last year. The memo released
by the panel today cites documents obtained from PhRMA, the drug
industry’s Washington lobby group.

“The full details of this agreement were kept from both
the public and the House of Representatives,” the memo said,
though it doesn’t specify what agreements were made or who has
been interviewed.

Binder said she doesn’t think it’s likely that there’s much
to turn up. “I think if it was particularly nefarious, they
wouldn’t have written it down,” she said. “It may seem ugly,
but it’s never pretty to watch the sausage. That’s just the
legislative process.”

No Republicans voted for the law when it passed Congress in
March 2010. They made it a touchstone of their successful
campaign that year to take back the House of Representatives.
Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney and
Republican members of Congress continue to call for its repeal.

Along with drugmakers, the committee has asked questions of
about 10 other groups, including doctors and hospitals,
according to the subcommittee. They also demanded that the White
House turn over information on negotiations between the health
industry and Democrats, and have so far been foiled.